Depression. What causes it? We all have experienced it in our lives at one point or another. Is there a cure? And if so, what is it? Let us explore the depths of this condition and go to its root, and resolve this thing once and for all.

Why is it when it comes to exploring the inner workings of the mind, the naysayers always utter with a loud voice in unison, "You can't figure it out, for we have tried and failed! For if we can't figure it out surely you can't!" Well to them let us join together in our reply, "Who are you, to tell me what I can and cannot do? Are you God?" And again, to the naysayers we would say, "Where you have failed, we will succeed!" And again, to the naysayers we would say, "Are my personal victories limited to your personal experiences?" CERTAINLY NOT! And again, come everyone let us join and refute them together, saying, "Do we not all have individual strengths and abilites?" "Could it be that the fact that naysayers haven't found a cure to depression was not necessarily because their was no cure but because of lack of ability on the naysayers part?" "How about for once these cowardly naysayers quite passing the buck and take responsibility for once and own up." And since they already wrote those who struggle with depression off as incurable, what difference does it make to them if you find a cure outside of their scope of treatment? I think we shut them up for now, because I can't hear them any more. They have left us alone for the time being. So come now, let us begin our study.

As you all may know, there are various different causes to depression. I don't claim to know them all, but I do know some.The causes that I know of I will address throughout this study and offer suggestions for removing these causes.

I am not a Licensed Psychotherapist or Psychologist. So if you are experiencing depression and have not yet seen a professional I suggest you do so before reading any further.

However, if you have exhausted all the various avenues and treatments within the Medical and Psychiatric field and just can't seem to get rid of depression, this article is for you.The reason I say that is because if the aforementioned statement refers to you, then clearly you need something more. If you have already been diagnosed with a condition this article is by no means to be a substitute to your treatments. What I am offering here is something to do in conjunction to what your treatment is.

Some people are depressed because of low-self esteem. For one reason or another their self-concept is negative and disempowering. Do you like yourself? When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Do you see someone that you love or hate? Those who have low self-esteem feel that they are worthless. They feel that the good things of life aren't meant for them and will just pass them by.They feel that they are not worthy of all the blessings that life has to offer and that somehow it's just not meant for them. Now I can already hear the naysayers again saying, "Well how do you know, are you a Therapist?" And to you I will say, "I KNOW BECAUSE I BEEN THERE! THAT'S HOW I KNOW! I DIDN'T JUST READ IT IN A BOOK, I EXPERIENCED IT FOR MYSELF FIRSTHAND! AND IF YOU ARE SO EDUCATED AND ERUDITE, THEN WHY ARE YOU READING MY ARTICLE, MR OR MRS KNOW IT ALL?" Ok, everyone, I think they left us for the present time. Now as I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted, somehow you feel like you will just go through life having to settle for whatever scraps life throws your way.

And you have to just say, "STOP IT!" While there are various particular methods of "suggestion" you can "Occam's Razor" it all the way down to just two. They are "Auto-Suggestion" and "Hetero-Suggestion". "Auto-Suggestion being "suggestions" that you say to your self and "hetero-suggestion" being "suggestions" made to you by others. For the most part, all suggestion begins at infancy via hetero-suggestion. Suggestions can be very subtle or they can be overt. We are mostly open to suggestions from primarily 3 sources.

1. Loved ones

2. People we respect

3. The Media

THE MEDIA

The Media as you already know is Television, Radio, etc.,etc., The music we listen to also goes in this category. While the Media has its use as far as knowing what's going on around the world, you still must guard your mind from its influence. The Media, whether you are aware of it or not is Dogmatic. Dogmatic in that they imply things without taking the time to verify what they're implying. The Media is somewhat responsible for the current state of the economy. And while they may "Beg the question" they cannot fool the likes of me and hopefully you will not be fooled any longer. The Media will deny using any type of "suggestive" methods yet they purposely use the power of suggestion constantly. HYPOCRITES! They must be aware of it's power or they would not be using it. Do you not see the power of suggestion being used in commercials about smoking and drinking?! They will show someone drinking or smoking with a pretty girl, nice car and nice clothes. The "implication" or "subliminal" message? That "if you smoke and drink, you will attract members of the opposite sex, get nice cars and nice apparel." I will speak on this in more detail later in another article.

PEOPLE WE RESPECT

This category includes Teachers, Professors, Doctors, etc., etc. Unknowingly, people in this category could be programming us for failure. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes ignorantly. I'll give you an example. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up at age 10, I said I wanted to be a Physician. My "Authority Figures" said, "Do you now how hard that is?" What is being implied here to this 10 year old child? Here is what is being implied, "If something is hard Eric, you can't do it." And we wonder why some teens have such low ambitions. Well because they couldn't get no encouragement! It's that simple! It takes no rocket scientist to figure that one out. That's just people "begging the question" again. And if encouragement is not necessary, as some naysayer may say, then I submit to you, to not encourage your own children, if encouragement is so unnecessary. Can you think of a time when you needed a little encouragement and a friend or maybe even stranger had a good word to lift you up? Now if as an adult, that word of encouragement helped you, imagine how helpful a word of encouragement would be to a child.

LOVED ONES

By now you probably know what I'm getting at. But just for the sake of clarity I'll still point out a few things here. Many people in our inner circle could be holding us back. Everytime you verbalize a goal, dream, or ambition of yours these "Loved Ones" just shoot it down. They "project" onto you their past failures and disappointments. Sometimes ignorantly and sometimes with full knowledge. Most of the time however, it's done in ignorance. However much you may love someone you must understand that they are still human and are susceptible to common or uncommon human weaknesses. People are imperfect. For all you know, your loved ones could have Jealousy or Envy issues. Maybe they just can't stand the idea of you accomplishing something that they could not in their earlier years. Logically, it may not make since that they would think that way, but Logic is rare these days. The whole education system doesn't make sense; and people with degrees designed it! Does it make since that an 18 year old can die for his or her country but not drink a beer? They can trust him with a gun but not with a beer? What's the logic in that? So we can't expect everyone, including our loved ones to be logical. I mean, does it make since that in America we go to school for 13 whole years and still not learn an occupation? The list of illogical things that educated and professional people endorse goes on and on, but that's another issue.

So now that we have a foundation of understanding in respect to those who influence us, we are now ready for part 2, "Principles of Suggestion". I will post part 2 to this article at another time, thereby giving you the necessary time to digest what's just been revealed.

Shalom